SMART e-News. October 2012.

Also, don’t forget SMART’s Calendar and Event Listings on the SMART Blog: http://www.um-smart.org/blog/calendar/. Just click on the event to get details on a wide variety of local and international events that come SMART’s way.

IMPORTANT JOB AND ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES

Don’t forget SMART’s Opportunities Listings: http://www.um-smart.org/blog/category/opps/. It posts local and international funding and job opportunities, as well as academic posts, prizes, and competitions that we hear about. Check the whole list, or search by category. Just scroll down.

ABOUT SMART

Welcome to October 2012’s SMART e-News!

Dear friends of SMART,

As a break from your busy fall schedule, have a read on what SMART has been up to and what’s coming up over the fall! And let us know if you’d like to get involved.

Warmly,

Sue

IMPORTANT SMART CONTENT DATES AND EVENTS

MOVE Toronto Innovation Talks
September 11 – October 9, Toronto, ON

MOVE: The Transportation Expo is a multi-sensory tour of the past, present and future of transportation; an exploration of the innovative ideas and technologies needed to build and connect our communities in efficient and sustainable ways.

At an average of 80 minutes per day, Toronto has one of the worst commute times in the world. And it’s getting worse. Currently home to over six million people, the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) is expected to grow to almost 9 million people by 2031—that means 3 million more people vying for space on already clogged highways and packed transit vehicles.

Set amid the spectacular heritage Kilns building of Evergreen Brick Works, the MOVE Expo is exploring solutions to the key transportation issues facing us today, in Toronto and in cities around the world.

SMART will participate in the MOVE Innovation Talks Environment panel on October 2nd.

Meeting of the Minds In San Francisco
October 9-11, San Francisco, CA

Once again, Meeting of the Minds will illuminate specific solutions and smart strategies that are making it possible to accelerate the emergence of sustainable cities around the globe — and create a smarter and more connected future for all. It will feature the innovators who are solving critical problems, especially those from organizations and companies that are making smart investment choices. The conference will identify breakthrough policies and practices that are already enabling our institutions and systems to become smarter and more resilient. SMART will take part in the panel called “Where is the Urban Mobility Revolution Headed?”

Municipal Art Society Summit for New York City
October 18-19, New York, NY

On October 18 and 19 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, innovative city shapers and thought leaders will gather as the Municipal Art Society presents the third annual MAS Summit for New York City. This forum of ideas surrounding planning, design and infrastructure; preservation and sustainability; arts and cultural development, and community engagement will feature more than 75 speakers over the two days and highlight trailblazing initiatives in New York and other cities across the globe. SMART will participate in the mobility panel.

Innomobility
November 7-8, Greenville, SC

Once again, the InnoMobility 2012 Conference will bring together a global, open innovation community of diverse thought leaders exploring how evolving demographics and advancing technology lead to new high-growth mobility markets.

Like SMART and in parallel, InnoMobility creates an innovative ecosystem that connects industry, academia, entrepreneurs, and investors who are interested in exploring partnerships to develop emerging business opportunities from the global transformation of mobility.

The Conference will showcase more than 30 business opportunities that are shaping the future of mobility over the course of two days. These emerging opportunities will be presented by leaders in major corporations, middle market companies, entrepreneurial businesses, and academic centers. Focus areas are innovative design and manufacturing, connectivity and mobile services, sustainable systems and clean tech, and electric vehicles and infrastructure. Last year, over 400 mobility thought leaders attended the event and we anticipate over 600 are anticipated this year.

SMART’s David Berdish, Manager of Sustainable Business Development at Ford Motor Company, will be giving a keynote speech and Sue Zielinski will take part in the mobility panel.

Savannah International Clean Energy Conference
November 11-13, Savannah Georgia

The SICEC brings together top influencers and leaders to discuss and debate the most pressing issues and provide timely information on a variety of sectors and best practices. From clean energy to cleantech and global security to sustainable cities, and more, the SICEC is two plus days of dynamic interaction among the world’s top investors, innovators, corporations, and government agencies. The conference will end in the Global Cleantech Cluster Association Later Stage Awards Gala and Dinner, where companies in 10 categories from across the globe have competed to be named the Best of Cleantech. SMART will take part in a panel.

ICLEI Session Changwon Korea
November 18-22, Changwon, Korea

The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives’ EcoMobility workshop will create a discussion among key decision makers, to address urban transport problems facing their cities, to share expertise among Alliance cities, and to find solutions that could be adopted by the City of Changwon. SMART’s Susan Zielinski will lead a system mapping and implementation workshop for global mayors at this event.

SMART NEWS

Announcing SMART Work-Study Position Postings.

SMART work study opportunities can be found at https://www.studentemployment.umich.edu/JobXJobDetail.aspx?JobId=24716&s=1. If you are interested in working with SMART in the fall and/or spring semesters, please submit an application as soon as possible.

SMART Welcomes Energy Institute PISET-sponsored Post Doc George Lu!

Welcome to George Lu who joined SMART in August, thanks to generous support from the PISET program of the University of Michigan’s Energy Institute. The PISET program seeds new interdisciplinary research programs in sustainable energy science, technology, and policy with funding for a University of Michigan Sustainable Energy Research Fellowship. Dr. Lu will be working on consumer uptake / decision-model work with Drs. Richard Gonzalez and David Chock. The primary focus is to model travelers’ choice behaviors across transportation modes through interdisciplinary research involving transportation science, social science, statistics, and management science. One objective is to establish a real-time information and forecast system which not only enhances physical connectivity among transportation modes and services but also supports multimodal travelers in making highly-informed decisions.

Dr. Lu earned his Master’s degree in Transportation Engineering at the University of Florida, and then his Ph.D. in Transportation Engineering at the University of Wisconsin – Madison where after graduation he worked as a Research Associate in the Traffic Operations & Safety (TOPS) Lab. Starting from mid-2010, he worked as a Researcher at the University of Vermont Transportation Research Center, a National University Transportation Center (2006-2012) of the U.S. Department of Transportation. As a key research staff, Dr. Lu has led the spatial analysis modeling to assess how land use and built environment factors can be utilized to dynamically estimate regional travel demands of sustainable modes. His research activities also included transportation energy use/tailpipe emissions modeling and pedestrian dynamics utilizing social force model simulation. Dr. Lu has published a series of lead-author peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers some of which creatively addressed safety, mobility, and accessibility related issues regarding urban travelers on sustainable transportation modes. He was the lead recipient of the 2010 Best Paper Award granted by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Task Force on Roundabouts Committee and one of the Patricia Waller Award nominees whose papers represent the best 1% of safety-related papers submitted to the TRB annual meeting of the year. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the International Journal of Safety Research published jointly by Elsevier and the National Safety Council of the United States. He also serves as a technical reviewer for the International Journal of Advanced Transportation and the Journal of Transportation Engineering ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers). He is an associate member of the ASCE and a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE).

(A more detailed bio will be available online.)

SMART Welcomes John Austin as new SMART Research Associate Focused on Michigan New Mobility Industry

John Austin directs the Michigan Economic Center at Prima Civitas Foundation, a center for ideas and network-building to advance Michigan’s economic transformation. He is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Brookings Institution, and a Michigan statewide elected official, re-elected in 2008 to his second-term and elected by his peers President of the Michigan State Board of Education. In recent years, Austin created and directed the Great Lakes Economic Initiative for the Brookings Institution where he authored key Brookings reports that directly shaped the region’s economic development agenda: “The Vital Center: A Federal-State Compact to Renew the Great Lakes Region;” “The Vital Connection: Reclaiming Great Lakes Economic Leadership in the Bi-National Great Lakes Region;” and “Healthy Waters, Strong Economy” (see www.brookings.edu/projects/great-lakes.aspx) led to federal support for Great Lakes clean-up and restoration, and regional understanding and actions to build on our Great Lakes and water resources as an economic asset, the “Blue Economy”, a term Austin coined.

Mr. Austin also served as Policy Director for Michigan’s Governor-appointed Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth, and was principal author of the Commission’s influential report. He was the founding Director of the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan—a $100 million effort by the region’s philanthropies to aid in the area’s economic transformation, and initiated the Global Detroit program to welcome immigrants as a source of economic strength and renewal. Austin received his Masters in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a Bachelors from Swarthmore College in Economics & Political Science, with High Honors and Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Austin has been married 25 years to his wife Terese. They and their three children reside in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Welcome to New SMART Steering Group Members Kristin Schondorf and Steve Underwood

Kristin Schondorf, Ford Motor Company, and Research and Advanced Engineering Global Project Manager, Future of Mobility

Kristin Schondorf is the dedicated global lead to define Ford’s overall vision on the future of mobility: determining how to address key macro societal and environmental issues such as ‘global gridlock’ and outlining the fundamental near/mid and long-term technologies required to deliver the plan. She is also responsible for identifying and defining the business model and supporting ecosystem as well as the development of key enabling technologies. Key organizations that are involved include Ford’s Sustainability Environment and Safety Engineering, Corporate Strategy, IT, Marketing and Product Development.

Kristin holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has 20 years of experience at Ford Motor Company. She spent the first 12 years of her career working in Engine and Powertrain, during which time 2.5 years was spent working in Cologne, Germany. As Ford’s Director of the MIT Alliance, she managed a $3M annual research budget. The past 7 years were spent in various roles in Planning and Strategy, with the last 4 years in the area of technology development including alternative fuels, emissions/aftertreatment and the in-vehicle air quality initiative with TUV. During her time in the cross-vehicle feature group, 15 customer features were launched on vehicle programs, including SYNC, Park Assist and Easy Fuel.

(A more detailed biography will be available online).

Dr. Steve Underwood, Director, Connected Vehicle Proving Center
College of Engineering and Computer Science, UM – Dearborn

Dr. Underwood is Director of the Connected Vehicle Proving Center (CVPC) in the College of Engineering and Computer Science with responsibility for managing research on connected and automated vehicle systems.

He has been working in the field of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), with a focus on mobile communication systems tests and evaluation, for over 25 years. Lately Dr. Underwood’s research has focused on design and assessment of self-driving road vehicles for the Department of Defense. He is conducting industry studies for defining the roadmap for the future of connected and self-driving vehicles including a series of expert forecasts and an integrative assessment of disruptive vehicle technology to advance livability and sustainability. One of his core responsibilities at this time is to assist TARDEC in developing locations at military bases for pilot testing their semi-autonomous vehicles.

Prior to joining the University of Michigan – Dearborn, Dr. Underwood was Director of the Transportation and Information Systems Planning (TISP) group at the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) where he led the evaluation of three national field tests of advanced transportation systems: the FAST-TRAC integrated route guidance adaptive traffic control system, the DIRECT motorist information system, and the SMART transit scheduling and dispatch system. Underwood also organized the winning Intelligent Vehicle-Highway System (IVHS) National Architecture team, which implemented the ITS national architecture for the U.S. Department of Transportation. Underwood holds a Ph.D. in Technological and Environmental Planning: Sociotechnological Systems Planning and a Masters of Urban Planning along with a Baccalaureate in Urban Economics, all from the University of Michigan. He taught courses on game theory, conflict resolution, transportation planning, traffic modeling, urban economics, and gaming and simulation.

(A more detailed bio will be available online.)

SMART Teams Up With Berkeley TSRC

SMART and TSRC (Berkeley’s Transportation Sustainability Research Center) just recently signed an MOU to collaborate on research, tech transfer, outreach, student support, and workshops and conferences. Watch SMART e-News for updates.

SMART Connects with Ross Business School

SMART was happy to welcome Mohammad Poorsartep to the SMART team for two months to manage a short-term project to catalyze collaboration between SMART and the Ross Business School, with the support of the Alcoa Foundation. Poorsartep arranged and documented over 22 different exploratory sessions focused on New Mobility-related opportunities for research, education and tech transfer collaboration with the Ross School. The next step is a joint strategy meeting among many of the session participants. Poorsartep is now back in Dearborn at the Connected Vehicle Proving center doing groundbreaking work with Steve Underwood on automated vehicles and much more but keeping in touch.

FAJ Students Complete Brazil Phase 1 Success Stories Research

PROJETO MASSUR – Mobilidad e Accessibilidade Sustenaveis em Saude Urbana: Pesquisa e Transformacao em Transporte. FAJ (Faculdade Jaguariuna). Lead researchers and students from Jaguariuna-based FAJ University recently established a New Mobility research effort in collaboration with SMART. As part of the research, FAJ students Patrick Pereira, Alessangela Soriani, Anelise Torres, and Daniela dos Santos recently completed phase one of a research project focused on Sustainable Transportation Success Stories in Brazil under the wise guidance of Professor Ana Maria Sperandio and colleagues. Following intensive research and a trip to Rio + 20, one Key Deliverable was a Brazilian Sustainable Transportation Success Stories Power Point.

SMART contribution to India City Competitiveness Report

The India City Competitiveness Report, compiled annually by the Institute for Competitiveness, ranks the 50 most competitive cities in India. Competitiveness is determined using the Diamond Model of Economic Competitiveness developed by Michael E. Porter of Harvard. This model analyzes factor conditions, demand conditions, context for strategy and rivalry, and supporting and related industries. The 2012 India City Competitiveness Report includes a contribution from SMART regarding multimodal transportation infrastructures in India’s cities as well as New Mobility industry cluster opportunities that support regional competitiveness.

SMART AT LARGE

SMART in Bangkok for Meeting on Inclusive Mobility
September 17-18, Bangkok Thailand

Sue Zielinski recently spent two days meeting with fellow grantees of the Rockefeller Foundation project “Catalyzing the New Mobility in cities.” Grantees from India, Thailand, the Philippines, Kenya, and the US focused on opportunities related to integrated multimodal New Mobility business models and inclusive mobility solutions that serve the urban poor.

Techonomy Detroit
September 12, Detroit, MI

Techonomy Detroit, hosted by the Detroit Economic Club, is a one-day multidisciplinary gathering of national and local leaders about reigniting U.S. competitiveness and economic growth, creating jobs, and revitalizing cities in a technologized age. It brings together executives and thought leaders from technology, business, manufacturing, government and design. TE Detroit aims to help sharpen the dialogue about progress, technology, and the economy during a national political campaign in which jobs are on the top of the agenda. SMART participated in a panel on the Evolution of Mobility.

Mapping and Implementation Session in Greenville
September 13, Greenville, SC

SMART recently led a Pre-Implementation Mapping Event in Greenville and Spartanburg in collaboration with representatives from local, state, and federal governments, international corporations, small and medium-sized businesses, colleges and universities, community champions, entrepreneurs, and innovators (with Alissa Ritzo and Tiffany Wedmore at the helm and Innomobility’s John Warner, Jessica Moss and Butler Mullins present as supporting partners). The aim was to identify next steps for multimodal IT enhanced mobility in the region. Toronto Metrolinx Innovation Director closed the session with a talk on, well, innovation!

EPA Sponsored Green Global Transport Summit Hosted Fred Friendly Seminar
September 10-12, Baltimore, MD

Hosted in the United States for the first time, the fifth summit of the International Environmentally Friendly Vehicle Conference offered a unique opportunity to showcase progress and innovation in transportation. It brought together industry leaders and representatives from around the world to share the latest innovations and experience on how to shape the market for clean and fuel efficient vehicles. Associated with the United Nations, the results of the conference will be used to continue an international dialogue on harmonization of global standards for and promotion of advanced vehicle technologies. SMART’s Susan Zielinski participated in the unique “Fred Friendly Seminar” Panel focused on the wider transportation context for electric vehicles.

SMART in Sao Paulo

Back in August, SMART was invited to collaborate with Brazilian Congressman Jose Filippi and Padre Ticau of Ermelino Matarazzo to focus on transportation improvements and connectivity in this low-income area of Metro Sao Paulo. The working team included Harvard Loeb Fellows Barbara Knecht and Ken Kruckemeyer of Strategies for Cities, Gil Kelley, former Director of Planning for Portland Oregon, and Sue Zielinski of SMART. Sue introduced and led an integrated multimodal mapping session beginning with an introduction session attended by 300 residents, and followed by a focused half-day mapping session attended by over 60 residents and community leaders. Watch SMART e-News for updates on evolving outcomes in Ermelino-Matarazzo and beyond.

ABOUT SMART

SMART, Sustainable Mobility & Accessibility Research & Transformation, is a project of UMTRI, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, and the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. Its steering group represents a breadth and diversity of departments, institutes, and initiatives related to sustainable transportation at the University of Michigan.

SMART catalyzes and undertakes research, demonstration projects (living labs), education, and global learning exchange on a range of issues related to the sustainable future of transportation.

SMART Blog: um-smart.org/blog

SMART ExChange–SMART’s networking site–is at smartumich.ning.com.

SMART is on Twitter.

SMART is on Google+.

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SMART e-News. May 2012.

by Susan Zielinski on May 9, 2012 in SMART e-News

CONTENTS

SMART NEWS

Announcing Mobi Prize Winners!

Thanks to Mobi Judges and Mentors

Thanks again to Mobi Partners

SMART in Lansing

SMART in the News

IMPORTANT DATES AND EVENTS:

May 22: 12:30 – 2 pm: Springtime Distinguished Speaker Luncheon Talk at Tom Gladwin’s Barn.

DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER: Philippe Crist, Administrator and Senior Researcher, International Transport Forum of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (And esteemed MobiPrize Judge!).

TOPIC: GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES: Policies and Interventions to Advance New Mobility Innovation with Examples from Around the World.

SETTING: The Pastoral surroundings of Tom Gladwin’s barn, with friends and colleagues interested in the future of transportation and cities. What better way to spend a springtime lunch hour?

BY INVITATION. To request an invitation and for directions to the barn, contact Bonnie Pond at bmckie@umich.edu.

IMPORTANT JOB AND ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES:

ABOUT SMART

Welcome to May 2012’s SMART e-News!

Dear friends of SMART,

Though we’ve been a bit preoccupied with all the excitement of the SMART Mobi Prize of late, a few other things have been going on since we last checked in. Including SMART presence at the VERGE conference on green business in March in Washington DC, and at the OECD / International Transport Forum Summit on Seamless Transport in Leipzig. SMART also made it into the press a couple of times.

SMART NEWS

ANNOUNCING THE MOBI PRIZE WINNERS!

Drum roll please… The three grand prize winners of the 2012 SMART Mobility Enterprize (“Mobi” Prize) are:

Zambikes (Judges Choice)

Hangzhou Omnipay Co. Ltd. (Judges Choice)

Carolnetas Caronas Intelligentes (People’s Choice)

These three innovative and replicable enterprises joined over 80 others to compete for three top Mobi Prizes, ($5000 U.S.D., a trip to present at Rio + 20, and top notch mentorship). See the Enterprize Register for links to the original candidates.

The field was then narrowed to the top 15.

The esteemed panel of judges then had the hard work of selecting the their top two. And YOU had the hard work of selecting the People’s Choice award.

We are so pleased that the three winners address the multiple goals of the Mobi award:

advancing sustainable transportation systems (New Mobility) world wide
identifying and promoting innovation and replicable new business models related to New Mobility
serving the urban poor
encouraging young entrepreneurship
advancing the emerging global New Mobility industry

And we’re so pleased with the results that we’re doing our best to see if we can continue the prize in future years. If you or your company or agency are interested in helping this happen, please contact Sue Zielinski at susanz@umich.edu.

For much more information and background on Mobi Prize 2012, visit the Mobi Prize site at www.mobiprize.com

THANKS TO MOBI JUDGES AND MENTORS

Our honored and dedicated “Final Judges” panel was represented across the globe and across disciplines and sectors that are relevant to transportation, livable and sustainable communities, business, and social enterprise.

Members of the equally diverse Group of Top Notch Mentors have generously committed focused time with the three prize winners to advise on their particular challenges and opportunities – another great motivation to apply for and win the prize.

Heartfelt thanks go to all Mobi Judges and Mentors, including:

David Berdish, Manager of Social Sustainability at Ford Motor Company and noted “intrapreneur.”

Jeb Brugmann: Leading practitioner and thinker on strategy and the process of innovation; author of “Welcome to the Urban Revolution,” and founding Secretary General of ICLEI, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.

Sonia F. Cadornigara: Board Member of Slum/Shack Dwellers International (SDI), Regional Coordinator for the Visayas of the Homeless Peoples Federation Phillippines Inc., Project Manager for Iloilo City (CLIFF) Community Led Infrastructure Finance Facility.

Robin Chase: Voted one of Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential People; Founder and former CEO of Zipcar, (the largest car sharing company in the world), GoLoco, and now BuzzCar.

Maiyue Cheng, Lead, Urban Innovation Initiatives in China for Cisco Systems.

Philippe Crist: Administrator and senior researcher, International Transport Forum of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Celine D’Cruz: Coordinator of Slum/Shack Dwellers International (SDI), World Fellow at Yale University, SDI representative to the World Bank based Cities Alliance, and founding member of SPARC.

Martin Kelly: IBM Venture group and “Entrepreneurs Camp” lead.

Ashwin Mahesh: – Founder and CEO of Mapunity; Editor of India Together; Ashoka Fellow; Senior Fellow in Transportation @ Indian Institute of Science; Member of Bangalore’s planning task force (ABIDe).

YOU! : For the People’s Choice Award!

THANKS AGAIN TO MOBI PARTNERS

SMART is extremely grateful to the Rockefeller Foundation for making the creation of the Mobi Prize possible. We also want to thank Ford Motor Company, the Alcoa Foundation, and the IBM SmartCamp for their support.

Through the course of the MobiPrize we’ve also been especially appreciative of our “Promoting Partners” who have kindly spread the word to sustainable mobility enterprises through their lists or newsletters, and have been the key to our “crowdsourcing” efforts to find innovative sustainable transportation enterprises. Our promoting partners include:

Arup

Ateneo School of Government Philippines

Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR)

Chennai City Connect

Christensen Global Strategies

EcoPlan

GLEQ (Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest) Michigan’s Startup Central

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability

Ilona Posner, User Experience & Usability Consultant

InnoMobility

Institute for Competitiveness, India

Institute for Transportation & Development Policy, (ITDP)

International Transport Forum (ITF)

New Cities Foundation

New York Regional Plan Association

Organization of Black Designers, (OBD)

Parking Carma

Praja

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA): SFpark

Shepherd Systems

Sustainable Transportation Standing Committee

Taubman School of Architecture & Urban Planning (TCAUP)

Trans4m (Michigan)

Transforming Transportation Research Corridor Consortium (TTRCC)

UM Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute

University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI)

WheelChange

SMART in Lansing

Back on April 9, SMART collaborated with Lynne Martinez and a diverse and vital working group to map Lansing’s New Mobility (multi-modal) Grid and identify specific short and long term enhancements and interventions. This session was made possible by the Alcoa Foundation through SMART’s “New Mobility Solutions” project. SMART is working with selected transportation leaders and communities across Michigan to map and enhance the existing multi-modal transportation grid, with a focus on connectivity, enabling policies and technologies, enabling business models, and marketing. The project continues through next year, so if you are keen to map your community’s or project’s New Mobility Grid with the purpose of generating pilots or on the ground interventions, contact Sue Zielinski at susanz@umich.edu.

SMART In the News

Its been a good month for SMART in the media. See “Ticket To Ride” in the April 9 issue of TIME Magazine, in which Roya Wolverson profiles an innovative information system that makes it easier to take a bus in India. See also “Why Ford & Ashok Leyland are Thinking Beyond Vehicles,” an Economic Times of India article by Naren Karunakaran. Also check out a great video on Detroit transportation infrastructure by Translogic featuring Taubman College’s Larissa Larsen and promoting SMART and Trans4m.

ABOUT SMART

SMART catalyzes and undertakes research, demonstration projects (living labs), education, and global learning exchange on a range of issues related to the sustainable future of transportation.

SMART Blog: um-smart.org/blog

SMART ExChange–SMART’s networking site–is at smartumich.ning.com.

SMART is on Twitter.

SMART is on Google+.

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SMART e-News. March 2012.

by Susan Zielinski on March 12, 2012 in SMART e-News

CONTENTS

SMART NEWS

April 1 Deadline for “Mobi,” Prize Honoring New Mobility Entrepreneurs Worldwide
Many Thanks to “Promoting Partners”
SMART A Partner in Successful $3.5 M Region V UTC Grant Focused on Sustainable Transportation
Alcoa Foundation Supports New Mobility Collaboration with Ross Business School
SMART to lead New Mobility Round Table At Asian Competitiveness Forum in Delhi in April
SMART Engages Indian Transit Leaders in Multi-Modal Mapping at EMBARQ Session In Bangalore
New Developments in Cochin
SMART in China
ITF Summit Focuses on Seamless Transportation
Remembering Gail Achterman, Cherished Portland-based Visionary Transportation Leader

IMPORTANT DATES AND EVENTS:

Don’t forget SMART’s Calendar and Event Listings on the SMART Blog: http://www.um-smart.org/blog/calendar/. Just click on the event to get details on a wide variety of local and international events that come SMART’s way.

IMPORTANT JOB AND ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES:

Don’t forget SMART’s Opportunities Listings: http://www.um-smart.org/blog/category/opps/.

It posts local and international funding and job opportunities, as well as academic posts, prizes, and competitions that we hear about. Check the whole list, or search by category. Just scroll down.

ABOUT SMART

Welcome to March 2012’s SMART e-News!

Dear friends of SMART,

There’s never a dull moment! After some intensive and inspiring work in Asia, among other things SMART now looks ahead to presenting the Mobi Prize in Rio in June and moving ahead with our global report on new business models and markets. Closer to home we’ll be going forward with work linked to the New Region V University Transportation Center, our new Ross Business School collaboration, and multi-mobility mapping with Connect + Prosper in Michigan. See below and get in touch if you’d like more detail or if you’d like to get involved.

SMART NEWS

DON’T MISS THE APRIL 1 DEADLINE FOR “MOBI” PRIZE HONORING NEW MOBILITY ENTREPRENEURS WORLDWIDE!

The “Mobi” (short for SMART Mobility EnterPrize) is an award celebrating entrepreneurial ventures in sustainable transportation, made possible by the generous support of the Rockefeller Foundation. See www.mobiprize.com.

If you are an entrepreneur with a venture that advances New Mobility, you can apply for the prize.

There are 3 Grand Prizes that include:

$5000 USD a trip to Rio + 20 in June to receive the prize
dedicated time with top notch entrepreneurial mentors

Special recognition will be given for New Mobility ventures that:

seamlessly connect with or enhance the wider (sustainable) transportation system
serve the urban poor
encourage young entrepreneurs

Though SMART has been working to promote the prize in India, South Africa, Brazil, and the Philippines, the Mobi is open to all New Mobility enterprises worldwide as long as they are legal and already up and running.

Even if you don’t win one of the three grand prizes, you are still a winner because you will be listed in the SMART EnterPrize Register of New Mobility Ventures. This listing will profile your enterprise and connect you with customers, VC’s, investors, other entrepreneurs, and collaborators locally and globally.

As context, the Mobi Prize is one component of a year-long Rockefeller Foundation-supported project of SMART called “Catalyzing the New Mobility in Cities.” The aim of this project is to identify existing and emerging New Mobility business models and innovative transportation approaches including those that benefit the urban poor; to identify and convene the social entrepreneurs advancing these new models along with key stakeholders; and to explore possible paths for scaling up those models.

In addition to the prize, SMART is connecting with representatives from the private sector, social enterprise, government, civil society, and academe to produce a report focused on the current state of the New Mobility industry worldwide, emerging new business models, and recommendations for related policy, research, and tech transfer that benefits the urban poor and at the same time addresses wider emerging trends and opportunities related to New Mobility globally. If you are interested in learning more about the report or contributing to it, please contact Sue Zielinski at susanz@umich.edu.

MANY THANKS TO “PROMOTING PARTNERS”

Members and friends of the SMART community are so very excited about the unique opportunity of the “Catalyzing New Mobility” project to discover and celebrate innovators and trailblazers from all corners of the world and all walks of life. We’re especially excited to learn about some of the common challenges posed for entrepreneurs who are at times working against all odds to invent and roll out solutions aimed at improving quality of life, environment and economy from the neighborhood to the global scale. We see both the prize and the listing as ways to “unearth” or “crowd source” the widest range of unique and promising ventures that in the aggregate can inform policy, research, and practice worldwide and perhaps help to remove barriers to innovation in this growing area of sustainable transportation / New Mobility.

For this reason we’re especially appreciative of our “Promoting Partners” who have kindly spread the word through their lists or newsletters. They include:

Arup

Ateneo School of Government Philippines

Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR)

GLEQ (Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest) Michigan’s Startup Central

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability

Ilona Posner, User Experience & Usability Consultant

InnoMobility

Institute for Competitiveness, India

International Transport Forum (ITF)

New Cities Foundation

New York Regional Plan Association

Parking Carma

Praja

Shepherd Systems

Taubman School of Architecture & Urban Design (TCAUP)

Trans4m (Michigan)

Transforming Transportation Research Corridor Consortium (TTRCC)

UM Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute

University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI)

WheelChange

If you are interested in becoming a “Promoting Partner” email us at Info@mobiprize.com with “Promoting Partner” in the subject line.

SMART A PARTNER IN SUCCESSFUL $3.5 M REGION V UTC GRANT

SMART is a key partner in the Region V University Transportation Center (NEXTRANS) which has been selected to receive $3.5 million in new grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation for continued research, education and technology transfer. Following a competitive selection process, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the selection of twenty-two university transportation centers to receive a total of $77 million to address critical transportation challenges.

The NEXTRANS Center was established in 2007 based on a competitive award from USDOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) to conduct a multidisciplinary program of transportation research, education and technology transfer. NEXTRANS, a regional university transportation center representing federal region 5, is a multi-university consortium of universities from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The Center also has many partners from the public and private sectors that provide a combination of financial, technical, logistical, and strategic collaborations.

The vision of the NEXTRANS Center is to seek integrated and sustainable solutions to transportation-related problems that further leverage technology when appropriate. In addition to seeking holistic transportation solutions, it will explore the linkage of transportation to energy security, environmental sustainability and climate change. In addition, the role of transportation in fostering economic revitalization and global economic competitiveness will be examined. The Center will foster the principles of integration and sustainability in developing solutions that range from concepts to deployment in the context of policy, planning, design, implementation, operations, maintenance, and management for transportation-related needs.

In addition, several activities related to transportation workforce development will be continued and expanded including education programs for P-12, undergraduate and graduate students, and current professionals.

NEXTRANS is administered by Purdue University’s Discovery Park and is located in the Purdue Research Park. Srinivas Peeta, professor of civil engineering at Purdue, is the director of the NEXTRANS Center. Jonathan Levine of the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning is the U-M Principal Investigator representing TCAUP and SMART.

ALCOA FOUNDATION SUPPORTS NEW MOBILITY COLLABORATION WITH ROSS BUSINESS SCHOOL

MBA students and Faculty at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business interested in helping to transform Detroit will benefit from two Alcoa Foundation grants totaling $65,000.

A $15,000 grant to U-M’s Revitalization and Business Initiative, which promotes Detroit’s assets and engages students with important issues shaping the city’s future, will support consulting projects matching about 40 Ross MBA students each year with up to eight Detroit businesses and nonprofit organizations. The grant also will help fund the R&B Initiative’s 2013 conference, which showcases business opportunities and initiatives with Detroit’s business leaders, decision makers, entrepreneurs and innovators.

The Alcoa Foundation also will provide a $50,000 grant to expand SMART’s New Mobility Solutions Project to encourage Ross School MBA students and faculty to identify and develop new business models, case studies and related research geared at accelerating development and tech transfer of new mobility solutions in Detroit, as well as in Beijing.

SMART TO LEAD NEW MOBILITY ROUND TABLE AT ASIAN COMPETITIVENESS FORUM IN DELHI IN APRIL

SMART partner Amit Kapoor of the India Institute for Competitiveness is a key mover of the Asia Competitiveness Forum to take place in Delhi on April 26 and 27, 2012 (http://competitiveness.in/acf2012). The Forum’s theme this year is “Competitiveness: Economic Development, Prosperity, and Creating Shared Value.” The forum will feature a special round table led by SMART and focused on New Business Models and Markets related to the growing global New Mobility Industry Cluster, with some emphasis on Asia. Connect + Prosper lead Robert Polk will also participate and present at the forum.

SMART ENGAGES INDIAN TRANSIT LEADERS IN MULTI-MODAL MAPPING AT EMBARQ SESSION IN BANGALORE

In mid-February SMART was invited to lead a multi-modal mapping session for 40 transit system leaders from cities across India, as part of WRI EMBARQ India’s learning workshop on transit station design. It was a good opportunity for transit system leaders to explore the advantages of planning across all modes, especially those that feed their systems. It was also a productive and enjoyable learning collaboration with EMBARQ.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS AT COCHIN LIVING LAB

What started as a coconut grove on 40 acres of agriculture ministry land in Cochin has in less than two years become a multi-modal hub that connects buses, scooters, cars and soon to be boats and the metro. A synergistic combination of the New Mobility grid or hub network concept with the work of a progressive research institute (Center for Public Policy Research, SMART’s Living Lab partner in Cochin) and (last but definitely not least) enlightened leadership has resulted in a transformative and integrative direction for Cochin’s transportation system with the Vytilla New Mobility hub as a first concrete step. For more information contact D. Dhanuraj at dhanu@cppr.in.

SMART IN CHINA THANKS TO ALCOA FOUNDATION

David Chock and Sue Zielinski got together last week with Shanghai-based SMART partner David Hung of SJTU Joint Institute for a foundational trip to Beijing to launch the China-based component of the “SMART New Mobility Solutions” project, supported by the Alcoa Foundation. The trip was more successful than anticipated, thanks to the active support of Cisco Systems (Maiyue Cheng, Nicole Ni), AECOM (ChenXi Bae), ICET and its Beijing Energy and Environment Network (Feng An and Robert Earley), Ford of China (Scott Chang), CAI Asia (Yan Peng), Alcoa (Vanessa Chang), Peking University (Penjun Zhao) and more. Zielinski also took the opportunity to meet with Dr. Tang Ya in Chengdu to explore New Mobility partnerships there, following last May’s Michigan Meeting on Sustainable Development led by Mark Banaszak Holl. She also connected in Hong Kong with Becky Loo of Hong Kong University. Next steps on this project include refining both piloting and research scopes and activities in preparation for a return trip in the fall.

ITF SUMMIT FOCUSES ON SEAMLESS TRANSPORTATION

Two years ago Sue Zielinski focused her opening panel presentation at the International Transport Forum (ITF) on Seamless Multi-Modal Mobility, one of the key themes of SMART. This year, the ITF has decided to focus their entire conference on this theme! The conference takes place in Leipzig Germany, May 2 – 4 and is highly recommended if you can make it to Leipzig in the spring. For more information go to: http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/2012/index.html.

REMEMBERING GAIL ACHTERMAN, CHERISHED PORTLAND-BASED TRANSPORTATION LEADER

The SMART community has lost a dear friend and a transformative and inspiring leader in transportation, land use, and ecology. Gail Achterman, a Portland lawyer, policy and legal expert on natural resources and transportation (former Oregon Commission of Transportation Chair), and lifelong Oregonian, died recently at age 62. She will be missed. Here are some exerts from a tribute to Gail:

“One thing Gail did better than anybody else was integrate land use, environmental and natural resources,” Kirkpatrick said. “She understood that land use and transportation and climate change and other natural resources law all needed to work together.”

…

Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, who rode bikes with Achterman, said Achterman was one of the first female law partners in her firm and the first to bring a “sustainability ethic” to the transportation commission.

…

“If one word comes to mind, that is ‘trailblazer,’” she said. “She was a visionary and she was an extraordinarily hard worker with a public service ethic you just don’t see very often.”

…

Lynn Peterson, transportation adviser to the governor, said Achterman was adept at balancing competing interests on transportation and creating positive working relationships during her work on the transportation commission. She had served on the commission since 2000 and chaired it since 2007.

…

Achterman’s 15-page résumé documents a long record of public service, university and research service, charitable activities, academic appointments, professional activities and awards, publications and reports, grants, public testimony and lectures and presentations.

…

She is survived by her husband, stepsons Daniel McGinnis and Ryan McGinnis; siblings Chris Achterman, Peg Achterman and Tom Achterman; and grandson Elliott McGinnis. The family suggests contributions to the Japanese Garden Society of Portland, Hoyt Arboretum Friends, the Deschutes River Conservancy, the Oregon State University Foundation for the Institute for Natural Resources or the Gail Achterman Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation.

And here is some video footage from a conversation Gail had with Chris Leinberger at the 2009 SMART Summit:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5VBftWr5o8

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rCuH5h-sAc

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQu0g2n8eOI&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLE689655C2EE1CA8F

Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk8cg2VdN7Y&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLE689655C2EE1CA8F

Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB2oURvYsLg&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLE689655C2EE1CA8F

ABOUT SMART

SMART catalyzes and undertakes research, demonstration projects (living labs), education, and global learning exchange on a range of issues related to the sustainable future of transportation.

SMART Blog: um-smart.org/blog

SMART ExChange–SMART’s networking site–is at smartumich.ning.com.

SMART is on Twitter.

SMART is on Google+.

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SMART e-News. February 2012.

by Susan Zielinski on February 8, 2012 in SMART e-News

CONTENTS

SMART NEWS ABRIDGED

SMART Announces the “Mobi,” a prize Honoring New Mobility Entrepreneurs Worldwide!
Transforming Transportation Summit Video Footage now online!
Mobility Mapping in Manila
U-M Graham Institute Planning Grants Announced: Advancing Livable Communities through Sustainable Transportation
December 19 Project Launch a Convivial Success
Brief SMART News summary

IMPORTANT DATES AND EVENTS:

IMPORTANT JOB AND ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES:

Don’t forget SMART’s Opportunities Listings: http://www.um-smart.org/blog/category/opps/.

It posts local and international funding and job opportunities, academic posts, prizes, competitions that come our way. Check the whole list, or search by category. Just scroll down.

ABOUT SMART

Welcome to February 2012’s SMART e-News!

SMART NEWS

Dear friends of SMART. This e-news is an abridged edition to focus your attention on the launch of the new Mobi Prize for New Mobility entrepreneurs. Do read the quick update on SMART activities since December, but watch for much more detail on what’s brewing in the next issue.

SMART ANNOUNCES THE “MOBI,” A PRIZE HONORING NEW MOBILITY ENTREPRENEURS WORLDWIDE!

If you are an entrepreneur with a venture that advances New Mobility, you can apply for the prize.

There are 3 Grand Prizes that include:

$5000 USD
a trip to Rio + 20 in June to receive the prize
dedicated time with top notch entrepreneurial mentors

Special recognition will be given for New Mobility ventures that:

seamlessly connect with or enhance the wider (sustainable) transportation system
serve the urban poor
encourage young entrepreneurs

Though SMART has been working to promote the prize in India, South Africa, Brazil, and the Philippines, the Mobi is open to all New Mobility entrepreneurs worldwide.

Members and friends of the SMART community are so very excited about this unique opportunity to discover and celebrate innovators and trailblazers from all corners of the world and all walks of life. We’re especially excited to learn about some of the common challenges posed for entrepreneurs who are at times working against all odds to invent and roll out solutions aimed at improving quality of life, environment and economy from the neighborhood to the global scale. We see both the prize and the listing as ways to “unearth” or “crowd source” the widest range of unique and promising ventures that in the aggregate can inform policy, research, and practice worldwide and perhaps help to remove barriers to innovation in this growing area of New Mobility.

So if you’re not an entrepreneur yourself, please forward nominations or links to people or ventures you think should be included on the journey and we’ll invite them to apply right away.

As context, the Mobi Prize is one component of a year-long Rockefeller Foundation-supported project of SMART called “Catalyzing the New Mobility in Cities”. The aim of this exciting project is to identify existing and emerging New Mobility business models and innovative transportation approaches including those that benefit the urban poor; to identify and convene the social entrepreneurs advancing these new models along with key stakeholders; and to explore possible paths for scaling up those models.

TRANSFORMING TRANSPORTATION SUMMIT VIDEOS NOW ONLINE!

You’ll remember that last April the University of Michigan, Wayne State University, and Michigan State University held a successful and ground breaking Inaugural Summit of the Transforming Transportation Research Corridor Consortium (TTRCC). If you missed it you can now catch videos of the many and diverse presentations on transforming transportation in Michigan and beyond. If you were able to attend, enjoy the memories! Go to: http://www.ttrcc.org/Summit/Program/Presentations.aspx.

Many thanks to the fine folks at MSU who made the videos possible.

Meanwhile please be in touch to share your stories of what research and action has transpired / transformed / emerged for you or your project since the summit.

MOBILITY MAPPING IN MANILA

As part of the “Catalyzing The New Mobility in Cities” project, representatives of local and regional government, large and small business, ngo’s and academe came together with SMART last week to map the transportation mode and service connectivity (the “New Mobility Grid”) and related economic opportunity in Manila Philippines. This SMART mapping process was part of a larger project to identify new business models and integrated mobility solutions geared to the urban poor in Metro Manila. Led by Dean Tony LaVina, Dr. Doy Romero, Dr. Danielle Guillen, and Lorenzo (JR) Cordova the session focused on a part of Quezon City as a starting point for mapping other areas across Metro Manila, and as a step towards implementing an enhanced New Mobility grid region wide.

U-M GRAHAM INSTITUTE PLANNING GRANTS ANNOUNCED: ADVANCING LIVABLE COMMUNITIES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION

What policies, interventions, innovations, and partnerships best enable urban areas to create more livable communities? To answer this question, an Integrated Assessment can bring together researchers, stakeholders, and decision makers to develop common analytical approaches, data sets, tools, and policies for relevant sustainable transportation and livable community interventions. This holistic view incorporates a wide range of policies and strategies including sustainable transportation initiatives, land-use planning, economic development, communications and telecommunications, technology, environmental protection, health promotion, and more.

Integrated Assessment Planning Grants

To support this work, the Graham Institute has funded five planning grants at $20,000 each. They will last for six months and run concurrently between November 30, 2011 and May 31, 2012. The five projects involve 13 University of Michigan faculty from six academic units and nine different communities (Los Angeles, Pasadena, San Francisco, Portland, Tacoma, Olympia, Kalamazoo, Ypsilanti, and Detroit). The principal investigators and their projects are:

Richard Gonzalez, Institute for Social Research: Consumer Uptake of Seamless, Multi-Modal Mobility (the New Mobility Grid): Policies and Information & Communication Technology (ICT) Affecting Behavior of Users and Decision Makers
Jarod Kelly, School of Natural Resources & Environment: Integrated Assessment of Infrastructure Greening within Detroit for Improved Sustainable Transportation, Water Quality, and Health
Larissa Larsen/Joe Grengs, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning: Providing Healthy Food and Transportation Access for Lower Income Populations in Eastern Washtenaw County
Richard K. Norton, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning: Realigning Public Services for Sustainability & Social Equity in Kalamazoo County
Steve Underwood, University of Michigan-Dearborn: An Integrated Assessment of the Potential for Innovative, Disruptive Applications of Technology for Transportation to Advance Livability and Sustainability

Teams that successfully meet planning grant objectives will be invited to submit full IA proposals from which the Graham Institute will select a limited number to support at approximately $150,000 per project year over a 15 month period.

For more information, please contact: John Callewaert, Graham Institute Integrated Assessment Program Director, (734) 615-3752 or jcallew@umich.edu.

DECEMBER 19 PROJECT LAUNCH A CONVIVIAL SUCCESS

Just before Christmas SMART partners and friends got together at the Michigan League in Ann Arbor to launch the Rockefeller-funded Catalyzing New Mobility In Cities project and to set the tone for a collaborative and productive 2012. In addition to the lively mingling we got a warm welcome from SMART leads Peter Sweatman of UMTRI, Jonathan Levine of Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning, and Tom Gladwin of Ross School of Business and the Erb Institute. We heard wise words on cities and the urban poor from Benjamin de La Pena of the Rockefeller Foundation. And we got exciting updates from Matt Brest of the Alcoa Foundation; Rich Gonzalez and David Chock on the Consumer Uptake Study; Steve Gutterman and Robert Polk of Connect + Prosper, Hi Fitzgerald of MSU representing the TTRCC (Transforming Transportation Research Corridor Consortium); Megan Owens, Richard Murphy, Conan Smith of the Trans4M Coalition; Michael Ford of the AATA and more.

BRIEF SMART NEWS SUMMARY

It was a busy holiday season and start of the year for SMART. In late December the Connect + Prosper project hosted a half day mapping and implementation meeting with key project leads across Michigan. And through December and January preparations have been underway for the Mobi Prize, the Catalyzing New Mobility Report, and project visits to the Philippines, India, China, and South Africa. Watch the next e-news for details.

ABOUT SMART

SMART catalyzes and undertakes research, demonstration projects (living labs), education, and global learning exchange on a range of issues related to the sustainable future of transportation.

SMART Blog: um-smart.org/blog

SMART ExChange–SMART’s networking site–is at smartumich.ning.com.

SMART is on Twitter.

SMART is on Google+.

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SMART e-News. December 2011.

by Susan Zielinski on December 1, 2011 in SMART e-News

CONTENTS

SMART NEWS

Mark December 19!: SMART Event Features Brief Talk on New Business Models, Global New Mobility Market & the Urban Poor by new Rockefeller Foundation Partner; Launches 2012 SMART and Connect + Prosper Projects & Research; & Offers Sustenance & Conviviality. Hussey Room, Michigan League. 4:30 – 8:30 pm
SMART receives Rockefeller Grant Focused on New Business Models, Global New Mobility Market, Urban Poor
New SMART Prize for New Mobility Entrepreneurs
Alcoa Foundation Leadership In Michigan for Launch of New Mobility Solutions Project (see video)
CARRS: Fond Retirement Farewell to a SMART Catalyst and Leader David Featherman, and Warm Welcome to Rachel Snow
SMART Advisor and Former MMPEI Director Leaves for Stony Brook
SMART Research and Community Partners receive Graham Institute IA grants
Zellner, Mahesh, Zielinski Publish on Mobile Solutions in India
Jonathan Feldman visit Sparks Manufacturing Dialogue
SMART Post-Doc Position Call Closes December 31. Focus: Consumer Uptake of Seamless Multi-Modal Mobility
SMART Welcomes New Work Study Team (and opens new positions to start in January 2012)
Last April’s TTEC / TTRCC event sees spinoffs. Send Your Stories!

NOT TO BE MISSED EVENTS AND IMPORTANT DATES

Mark December 19!: SMART Event Features Brief Talk on New Business Models, Global New Mobility Market & the Urban Poor by new Rockefeller Foundation Partner; Launches 2012 SMART and Connect + Prosper Projects & Research; & Offers Sustenance & Conviviality. Hussey Room, Michigan League. 4:30 – 8:30 pm.
FOR MANY OTHER IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS: Don’t forget SMART’s Calendar and Event Listings on the Blog: http://www.um-smart.org/blog/calendar/. Just click on the event and get details.
AND FOR IMPORTANT JOB AND ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES: Don’t forget SMART’s Opportunities Listings: http://www.um-smart.org/blog/category/opps/. Check the whole list, or search by category by scrolling down.

SMART AT LARGE

NEW COLLABORATIONS AND WORKING SESSIONS

SMART Meets With IVM in Buenos Aires
FAJ Partners Meet Near Sao Paulo
New Collaboration to Launch New Mobility Project in Manila Philippines
New Mobility Mapping and Piloting Session in Rio
MOVE Charrette and Exhibit in Toronto
Hub Network Project in Tyson’s Corner / Fairfax

PRESENTATIONS

WAVE 3.0 Meeting Sparks Future Mobility Platform Conversations
Montreal Car Share Conference
ITSA World Congress in Orlando
Innomobility Event in Greenville, South Carolina
EcoMobility Summit in Changwon, Korea
Wayne State Post Industrial City Conference (on behalf of TTRCC)
As We Speak: SMART Presents at Bonn Symposium 2011 (Mobility – Development – Culture Towards Sustainable Transport Strategies)

ABOUT SMART

Welcome to November 2011’s SMART e-News!

SMART NEWS

Dear friends of SMART. This Thanksgiving there was plenty to be thankful for in the SMART Community as you’ll see in this issue of SMART e-News. Please be in touch if you’d like to know more about or be involved with any of the projects or research profiled below (susanz@umich.edu).

Mark December 19!: SMART Event Features Brief Talk on New Business Models, Global New Mobility Market & the Urban Poor by new Rockefeller Foundation Partner; Launches 2012 SMART and Connect + Prosper Projects & Research; & Offers Sustenance & Conviviality. Hussey Room, Michigan League. 4:30 – 8:30 pm.

You are invited. Please reserve Monday December 19, 4:30 – 8:30 pm for the SMART / Connect + Prosper Project Launch and end-of-season gathering in the Hussey Room at the Michigan League in Ann Arbor. The fireplace will be lit, and treats will be served to keep you warm and fuel your conversations.

It features a brief talk on new business models, the emerging New Mobility industry, and transport for the urban poor by Benjamin De La Pena of the Rockefeller Foundation in New York (SMART’s most recent funding and project partner).

Please RSVP Kim Seelye at kkseelye@umich.edu.

SMART receives Rockefeller Grant Focused on New Business Models, Global New Mobility Market, Urban Poor

SMART is very happy to announce an exciting new project supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, entitled “Catalyzing the New Mobility in Cities.” The purpose of the initiative is to identify existing and emerging New Mobility business models and innovative transportation approaches, with some emphasis on those that benefit the urban poor; to identify and convene the social entrepreneurs advancing these new models along with key stakeholders; and to explore possible paths for scaling up these models.

The project is in three parts:

Report on the Global New Mobility Industry: current status as well as opportunities to support the urban poor (world wide, but with some emphasis on India, South Africa, Brazil, and the Philippines).
New Mobility Entrepreneurs Prize and Listing (WorldWide) (see “New SMART Prize” below).
New Mobility Implementation in Manila Philippines (see “SMART At Large” below).

SMART’s vision of the project is to provide a springboard for action on New Mobility Business models geared to the urban poor as well as more widely (because business models that work for the urban poor should work for everyone!). This work aims first to raise awareness, and then to catalyze opportunity in areas formerly untapped. We anticipate that the dialogue, research, and on-the-ground solution building over the course of this one-year initiative will have ongoing effects and will lay the foundation for a wider community of entrepreneurs, businesses, and urban leaders dedicated to understanding, action, and policy on this subject. We also anticipate wider learning in terms of new business models and innovative transport approaches targeted beyond the urban poor.

This project has arisen in the context of, on the one hand, rapid urbanization, shifting demographics, increasing climate change threat, and global economic restructuring, and, on the other hand, new facilitative information technologies, new service and fractional use models and new cultural trends toward open source, IT-enhanced multi-modal portfolios and door-to-door systems. It is very timely because while a plethora of innovations has arisen worldwide in response to these trends, significant gaps remain, which are amplified for the vulnerable and urban poor. Understanding these conditions and contexts, over the next year SMART will bring together its Living Lab partners as well as key research collaborators to answer key questions and catalyze actions to address these issues.

If you are interested in being involved in this work, we are particularly interested in:

identifying new trends and business models and conceptual frameworks or innovations that you know about that might contribute to the theme of this project
identifying entrepreneurs or ventures world-wide that might compete for the prize and be entered into the New Mobility Entrepreneurs listing
identifying research collaborators as well as action and funding partners interested in moving this work forward
developing innovative web-based supports for this work

Contact Sue Zielinski at susanz@umich.edu for more information or to get involved.

New SMART Prize for New Mobility Entrepreneurs

Do you have an innovative venture that is helping to reshape mobility in cities or across regions?

ANNOUNCING SMART MOBILITY EnterPrize:

A NEW PRIZE FOR ENTREPRENEURS ADDRESSING SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORTATION

3 cash prizes
travel to present on the world stage at Rio +20 in June 2012

With the generous support of the Rockefeller Foundation, SMART seeks to identify and recognize notable New Mobility enterprises worldwide, with special recognition for young entrepreneurs, those offering integrated solutions, and those benefiting the everyday life of the urban poor as well as other vulnerable people living in cities. All entrepreneurs addressing mobility and accessibility challenges with innovative and sustainable solutions and business models are encouraged to apply.

Each application will be evaluated by a prestigious jury of experts in the field and by the online public to decide the winners of the two New Mobility Prizes and one People’s Choice Award. All qualifying applicants – even those who are not prizewinners, will be profiled in the first international online listing for New Mobility Entrepreneurs, an exciting new cyberspace for promoting and networking New Mobility entrepreneurs locally and worldwide.

Each prize includes a $5,000 cash award as well as travel to present your work and receive the prize in person at the Entrepreneurs Session of the Rio + 20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Your venture must be up and running and legal.

Applications open soon. Check the SMART Blog to keep updated on the latest news (um-smart.org/blog). For more information, please email: EnterPrizeMobility@gmail.com

Alcoa Foundation Leadership In Michigan for Launch of New Mobility Solutions Project (see video)

On September 27th Alcoa Foundation President Paula Davis and her team, including Scott Hudson, Victor Marquez, Matthew Brest, and Cara Wolinsky (of IIE) paid a visit to U-M to meet SMART members and leads and to launch the SMART New Mobility Solutions project. While there, Cara Wolinsky captured some footage that would contribute to a short video she has made about the project. See: http://www.iie.org/en/Programs/Alcoa-Foundation-Advancing-Sustainability-Research/New-Mobility-Solutions. Work in both the Detroit and Beijing regions is beginning to gather momentum. Watch future issues of e-News for new developments.

CARRS: Fond Retirement Farewell to a SMART Catalyst and Leader David Featherman, and Warm Welcome to Rachel Snow

Rachel Snow

David Featherman

On November 4, members of the SMART network had a chance to celebrate the retirement of their cherished colleague and founding Director of CARSS (Center for Advancing Research and Solutions for Society – http://carss.umich.edu), the Center that incubated SMART through its inception years. The lively reception at the Museum of Art on State Street bid farewell (but not goodbye) to David Featherman, and welcomed CARSS’ new Director, Rachel Snow. Before creating CARSS, Featherman was Director of the Institute for Social Research, and before that President of the Social Science Research Council in New York City (and much more – see: http://um-smart.org/people_partners/people/featherman.php). Rachel Snow has already hit the ground running with the CARSS agenda of translating science into social innovation and action. We look forward to working with her.

SMART Advisor and Former MMPEI Director Leaves for Stony Brook

Best wishes also to Dennis Assanis, a valued SMART supporter and advisor who recently left U-M to take up a post as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Stony Brook University in New York. See: http://commcgi.cc.stonybrook.edu/am2/publish/General_University_News_2
/Dennis_N_Assanis_Appointed_Provost_And_Senior_vice_President_For_Academic_Affairs_At_Stony_
brook_University_VP_For_Brookhaven_Affairs.shtml. He’ll be missed!

SMART Community Partners receive Graham Institute IA grants

Following the U-M Graham Institute’s call for proposals on Advancing Livable Communities through Sustainable Transportation, several members of the SMART community have been awarded support to develop plans for Integrated Assessments that will bring together researchers, stakeholders, and decision-makers to develop common analytical approaches, data sets, tools, and policies for relevant sustainable transportation and livable community interventions in the U.S. This holistic view incorporates a wide range of policies and strategies including sustainable transportation initiatives, land-use planning, economic development, communications and telecommunications, technology, environmental protection, health promotion, and more.

An effective IA in this context first requires identifying innovative efforts and partners willing to collaborate. For this first phase, the Graham Institute has funded planning grants at $20,000 each. This work focuses on the feasibility of conducting a place-based analysis of a particular set of interventions that will contribute to the IA. The planning grants will last for six months and run concurrently between November 30, 2011 and May 31, 2012. Successful planning grant proposals will be selected to pursue a full Integrated Assessment with Graham Institute support of up to $150,000 over the 15 months that follow.

UM-based SMART community planning grant recipients include: Scott Campbell, David Chock, Rich Gonzalez, Bob Marans, Geoff Thun, Steve Underwood. They will work with SMART Living Lab and collaborative research partners from Seattle (Steve Marshall, Steve Underwood), Portland (Deena Platman, John MacArthur), San Francisco (Susan Shaheen, Tim Papandreou, Jack Broadbent, Heath Maddox), Los Angeles (Robin Blair, Jay Kim, Rufina Juarez), and Pasadena (Judi Masuda).

SMART advisors Don Scavia and John Callewaert of the Graham Institute worked hard with a range of advisors to develop this exciting opportunity.

Zellner, Mahesh, Zielinski Publish on Mobile Solutions in India

On a research trip to Bangalore in 2008, SMART members Moira Zellner and Sue Zielinski met Ashwin Mahesh, innovator and Public Policy professor at IIM Bangalore and decided to collaborate on an article about new technology, innovation, and public policy. That article, entitled “Emerging Private Sector Roles in Urban Transport: A Case Study of an Innovative Telecom-GIS Solution in Bangalore,” has just been published in the new peer-reviewed Journal of Urban Technology (Vol 18, NO. 3, July 2011, 67-80). The article examines the role of public-private innovation in the development of the Bangalore Transport Information System (BTIS). BTIS is a successful example of new institutional arrangements that integrate perspectives, needs, and tools developed in all sectors of society to address the increasing complexity of transportation problems in Indian cities facing rapid socioeconomic transformation. The lessons learned in the Bangalore case have been applied to other cities in India and have potential for other countries. To access the article, go to http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10630732.2011.615568.

Jonathan Feldman visit Sparks Manufacturing Dialogue

This past September Dr. Jonathan Feldman of the University of Stockholm visited U-M for a month as the inaugural “SMART Fellow.” He wasted no time in meeting with and interviewing a diverse selection of leaders and innovators focused on foundations for rail-based transit manufacturing, both regionally and nationally. He is currently working on summarizing the work within the context of the emerging New Mobility industry. If you missed him while he was here and are keen to be in touch, please don’t hesitate to contact him at jonathanmfeldman@gmail.com.

SMART Post-Doc Position Call Closes December 31. Focus: Consumer Uptake of Seamless Multi-Modal Mobility

SMART has won support for a one year Post-Doc position (with potential for one year extension) from the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute’s (MMPEI) Partnerships for Innovation in Sustainable Energy Technologies (PISET) program (see energy.umich.edu/funding-opportunities/funding/university-of-michigan-funding). This award supports the appointment of a MMPEI research fellow to do research that bridges traditional disciplines to offer a better understanding of sustainable energy science, technology, or policy.

The SMART Post Doc will support the “Consumer Uptake of Seamless Multi-Modal Mobility” work led by Richard Gonzalez and David Chock, with a particular emphasis on energy and sustainability implications. It is a two-year study to understand how providing integrated multi-modal transportation and related real time information systems about door-to-door mobility impacts consumers’ mode choice and affects sustainability. As mobile internet systems become available, it is now possible to establish a real-time information and forecast system that enhances physical connectivity among modes and services, and supports travelers in making informed decisions, which in turn enables the establishment of the next-generation mobility grid. New behavior-based mode choice models will be developed incorporating revealed- and stated-preference information applied to specific regions, to be followed by a forecast in subsequent impacts on greenhouse-gas emissions. The regions of interest in this study include major cities in the U.S. and China. For more information contact Sue Zielinski at susanz@umich.edu.

SMART Welcomes New Work Study Team (and opens new positions to start in January 2012)

We are again blessed with a diverse and top-notch group of Work Study and volunteer students working on SMART’s various projects. The 2011 SMART team includes: Komal Anand, Sara Anderson, Mishayla Binkerd, Mandy Chi Lai Lee, Arielle Fleisher, Nadine Gilmer, Kimberly Jongsma, Katie Knapp, Maggie Li, Monica Musialowski, Morgan Princing, Collette Rothe, Kim Seelye, Benjamin VanGessell, and Albert Wolschleger III. If you are interested in joining the SMART team (positions reopen for January 2012) please contact Sue Zielinski at susanz@umich.edu.

Last April’s TTEC / TTRCC event sees spinoffs. Send Your Stories!

Transportation events are created so that things will happen, not just for the sake of getting together and talking. That’s why it’s so exciting to hear reports of new ideas or connections that sparked real action at last April’s TTEC / TTRCC / SMART summit, including:

the Rockefeller Catalyzing project (see above)
the Alcoa New Mobility Solutions project (see above)
the October GLITTH Summit (Great Lakes International Trade and Transport Hub Summit – see https://shop.msu.edu/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=SSCP‐01)

The Transforming Transportation consortium leads are currently gathering materials to grow the TTEC Research and Action Agenda, so your quick email reporting on projects or action or changes that resulted from or got better because of the TTEC summit last April would be most appreciated. Send your 2-3 sentence email (with a link if available) to Kim Seelye at kkseelye@umich.edu.

And watch future e-news issues for video footage from the summit.

SMART AT LARGE (a not exhaustive report)

NEW COLLABORATIONS AND WORKING SESSIONS

SMART Meets With IVM in Buenos Aires

SMART met in Buenos Aires last month with leads from the Institut pour La Ville En Mouvement PSA Peugeot Citroen, a Paris-based International Institute that seeks to contribute to the emergence of innovative solutions for urban mobilities, including transport for the urban poor and vulnerable. See http://www.ville-en-mouvement.com/uk/laboratoire-mobilites-urbaines-UK.htm. We also met with economic leads at an event focused on new enterprises in Buenos Aires to explore emerging New Mobility-focused business models and ventures.

FAJ Partners Meet Near Sao Paulo

Members of FAJ research and student team

Principal Investigator Ana Maria Sperandio with her husband Henrique in Campinas’ Regular Sunday CycloVia.

SMART met in November with lead researchers and students from Jaguariuna-based FAJ University who have established a New Mobility research effort in collaboration with SMART. Focused on Jaguariuna, Santa Barbara d’Oueste, and Conchall (all near Sao Paulo) its purpose is to study current transportation practices and to advance and innovate opportunities for implementation of sustainable transportation systems that will contribute to greater livability and public health in those communities. Principal Investigator Professor Ana Maria Sperandio presented preliminary work at the recent International 10thInternational Conference on Urban Health in Belo Horizonte Brazil.

New Collaboration to Launch New Mobility Project in Manila Philippines

Dr. Tony LaVina of the Ateneo School of Government in Manila Philippines points out transport and development hotspots to Rockefeller Foundation partners Benjamin De La Pena and Amira Ibrahim.

As part of the Rockefeller-supported “Catalyzing The New Mobility in Cities” project, SMART has forged a Living Lab collaboration with partners from the Ateneo School of Government in Manila Philippines to collaboratively map and improve the New Mobility Grid (seamless multi-mode, multi-service transport network). In October SMART met with leaders in transportation at the city and state levels as well as representatives of business, NGO’s and local Universities to set the stage. Next on the agenda is the first integrated mapping session coming up in late January 2012.

New Mobility Mapping and Piloting Session in Rio

It’s a heady time in Rio de Janeiro as they begin to address some wicked urban challenges and at the same time prepare to host some very major events: a World Cup and the Olympics in coming few years, and a Rio + 20 meeting in June 2012. SMART returned to Rio in early November to meet with the City, the State, local NGO’s and local and international business leaders (Cisco, GE, Google, IBM and more) to map their current and potential New Mobility grid and to identify and spark interventions, pilots and related economic opportunities. SMART explored research needs and forged collaborations that will advance the implementation of Rio’s New Mobility grid. SMART was also an invited guest at IBM’s Global Smart City summit happening in Rio, as well as the Latin American Entrepreneurs Camp.

MOVE Charrette and Exhibit in Toronto

Toronto’s Evergreen Foundation and the Institute Without Boundaries have come together to mount an exciting exhibit that explores how we can build more sustainable transportation and, in the process, create healthier cities and a future that balances the needs of people with nature.

The expo’s goals and values are:

to encourage individuals to adopt more sustainable lifestyle choices
to inspire people to become agents of change, creating momentum so that our governments and the private sector act more boldly in adopting sustainable practices
to celebrate and showcase leadership from business, government and civil society
to showcase innovation demonstrating solutions that will help us deal with the environmental challenges of the 21st century
and to explore sustainability through the interrelationships between environmental, economic and social issues.

In preparation for the exhibit 10 Toronto-based challenges are being addressed in the form of charrettes to explore solutions that are relevant not only to Toronto but to communities and regions worldwide. SMART advised on the charettes this past November and will participate in the Exhibit opening in June of 2012. For more information visit: http://ebw.evergreen.ca/files/MOVE-Charrette.pdf.

Hub Network Project in Tyson’s Corner / Fairfax

SMART has been invited to collaborate with Nelson Nygaard on an Analysis of the Development and Implementation of Multimodal Transportation Hubs in Tysons Corner, VA. This is part of the Metropolitan Washington Council Of Governments (MWCOG) Transportation/Land-Use Connection program and offers an opportunity to bring the concept of New Mobility Hubs to Tysons Corner as a means of fulfilling the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan. SMART will provide conceptual frameworks, case studies, and broader learning from the SMART Living Lab collaborations around the world, as well as applied methodologies for collaboratively mapping the existing New Mobility Grid and identifying and implementing future hub and grid enhancements and interventions.

PRESENTATIONS

WAVE 3.0 Meeting Sparks Future Mobility Platform Conversations

Back in August a number of SMART leads and Connect + Prosper Advisors participated in and presented at a meeting to explore WAVE 3.0, an approach to linking the “3 internets” (Information, Mobility, and Energy) to support a platform for advancing next generation transportation systems and related economic and employment opportunity both in Michigan and nationally. Dialogue has continued and evolved since that time. For more information contact Udi Namaani udi@att.net

Montreal Car Share Conference

At the beginning of October the Car Sharing Association annual conference at the Biosphere in Montreal had the future of personal mobility as its key theme. SMART weighed in with a presentation on the role of car share in the evolving New Mobility grid. The Car Sharing Association works to maximize the environmental and social impact of the carsharing industry. Member organizations are committed to providing sustainable, transit-oriented urban mobility for the benefit of the communities that they serve. See: http://www.carsharing.org.

ITSA World Congress in Orlando

Peter Sweatman (also board member of ITS America) and Sue Zielinski participated and presented at the ITS America World Congress in Orlando Florida in October. Every year the conference includes more content and activities focused on sustainable transportation. ITSA World Congress will be hosted in Detroit in 2014 – a great opportunity to showcase Michigan based transformations. For more information go to http://www.itsa.org.

Innomobility Event in Greenville, South Carolina

SMART was pleased to collaborate on and present at the InnoMobility conference in Greenville South Carolina in October. The focus of the very successful conference was synergistic with SMART’s work on new business models, New Mobility industry development, and tech transfer. Watch the Innomobility website for footage of the event: http://www.innoventurecommunity.com/community/innomobility-community.

EcoMobility Summit in Changwon, Korea

En route to Manila, SMART was pleased to stop in Changwon Korea to speak at the successful EcoMobility Summit, hosted by the EcoMobility Alliance with whom SMART has collaborated on various initiatives. For more information, see: http://ecomobility2011.iclei.org.

Wayne State Post Industrial City Conference (on behalf of TTRCC)

On November 18th SMART was honored to present on New Mobility and the post-industrial city in a panel at Wayne State’s conference on the Post Industrial City. Video of the sessions will be posted on Wayne State’s website in the near future. See: http://research2.wayne.edu/hum/Hum/Programs/fallsymposium/11-12.html.

As We Speak: SMART Presents at Bonn Symposium 2011 (Mobility – Development – Culture Towards Sustainable Transport Strategies)

SMART is currently taking part in the Annual Bonn Symposium on Sustainable Development which this year is focusing on Mobility. The Bonn Symposium provides a platform for the exchange of experiences and know-how in the field of sustainable development. The symposium seeks to contribute to the establishment of an improved network of international actors and institutions, and the affirmation of Bonn as a location of expertise on sustainable development. http://www.bonn-symposium.de/bs_home00.html

ABOUT SMART

SMART catalyzes and undertakes research, demonstration projects (living labs), education, and global learning exchange on a range of issues related to the sustainable future of transportation.

SMART ExChange–Smart’s networking site–is at smartumich.ning.com.

SMART is on Twitter.

SMART is on Google+.

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SMART e-News. September 2011.

by Susan Zielinski on September 9, 2011 in SMART e-News

CONTENTS

SMART NEWS

SMART Receives Alcoa Grant to Focus on Beijing & Detroit Regions
SMART Post Doc Fellowship Grant thanks to MMPEI’s “PISET”
Ford Motor Company Renews Support For SMART
Student Work-Study positions available for 2011/2012
SMART Welcomes First “SMART Fellow” Dr. Jonathan Feldman
Graham Institute Community Planning Grants Call
Transforming Transportation Power Points now available online

NOT TO BE MISSED EVENTS AND IMPORTANT DATES

September 20: Dr. Jonathan Feldman Visiting Scholar from Sweden on industry development and green jobs around transit and rail in Michigan. 6:30 pm, Taubman College Auditorium U-M Ann Arbor
September 22-23: Upstate Transportation Forum: Transforming Communities through Creative Collaboration, Ithaca, NY
October 16 – 20: 18^th World Congress On Intelligent Transportation Systems “Keeping the Economy Moving,” Orlando Florida
October 18-19: InnoMobility Global Conference, Greensville S.C.
October 22-24: World Congress on Mobility for Sustainable Cities, Changwon, Republic of Korea
November 1-5: International Conference on Urban Health, Belo Horizonte City, Brazil

SMART AT LARGE

ABOUT SMART

Welcome to April’s SMART e-News!

SMART NEWS

Dear friends of SMART. It’s been a while since our last e-news, largely because so much has been happening. See below for a (not exhaustive) report on some selected highlights and activities of SMART and partners. Meanwhile we hope you’ve had a wonderful summer and wish you a very productive and sustainable September. Please be in touch (susanz@umich.edu) if you’d like to know more about or be involved with any of the projects and research below.

SMART Receives Alcoa Foundation Grant to Focus on Beijing and Detroit Regions

The Alcoa Foundation has provided a $250,000 grant to support SMART in developing and applying practical solutions to the challenges of sustainable transportation in the Detroit and Beijing regions. SMART is now part of Alcoa Foundation’s $4 million Advancing Sustainability Research: Innovative Partnerships for Actionable Solutions initiative that funds 10 global sustainability research projects in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Russia and the United States.

The project will marry knowledge and action on sustainable transportation and related sustainable economic development in two cities that are vastly different and yet face challenges and opportunities that might offer wider lessons for advancing sustainable transportation in other regions and communities around the world.

The projected outcomes of the SMART initiative are to:

Mobilize a diverse partnership base required to collectively describe, develop and apply practical and integrated solutions.
Uncover new data and conceptual frameworks: technical, behavioral, economic and policy-focused.
Pilot innovations, enhancements and communications approaches that will improve transportation connectivity and sustainability in the Beijing and Detroit regions.

In addition to SMART, the Advancing Sustainability Research: Innovative Partnerships for Actionable Solutions initiative includes other partners in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe and Russia working on solutions related to Wetlands, Life Cycle Assessment, Voluntary Emissions Reduction and NGO Participation, Energy and Environmental Economics, Lightweight Materials and Design, and more. Over the course of two years, partners will create and leverage this sustainability research, as well as provide opportunities to develop and share solutions worldwide. For more information about Alcoa Foundation, go to: www.alcoa.com/foundation.

SMART Post Doctoral Research Fellowship Grant Soon Available Thanks to MMPEI’s “PISET” Program

SMART has won support for a one year Post-Doc position (with potential for one year extension) from the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute’s (MMPEI) Partnerships for Innovation in Sustainable Energy Technologies (PISET) program (see energy.umich.edu/funding-opportunities/funding/university-of-michigan-funding). This fall’s awards represent the second round of PISET funding, which supports the appointment of a MMPEI research fellow to do research that bridges traditional disciplines to offer a better understanding of sustainable energy science, technology, or policy.

The Post Doc will support the “Consumer Uptake of Seamless Multi-Modal Mobility” work led by Richard Gonzalez and David Chock, with a particular emphasis on energy and sustainability implications. It is a two-year study to understand how providing integrated multi-modal transportation and related real time information systems about door-to-door mobility impacts consumers’ mode choice and affects sustainability. As mobile internet systems become available, it is now possible to establish a real-time information and forecast system that enhances physical connectivity among modes and services, and supports travelers in making informed decisions, which in turn enables the establishment of the next-generation mobility grid. New behavior-based mode choice models will be developed incorporating revealed- and stated-preference information applied to specific regions, to be followed by a forecast in subsequent impacts on greenhouse-gas emissions. The regions of interest in this study include major cities in the U.S. and China. We are happy to announce that Dr. David Hung of SJTU University in Shanghai has joined the research team to focus on the work in China.

The formal call for the Post Doc position will be released in the near future. For more information on the Consumer Uptake study contact Sue Zielinski at susanz@umich.edu.

Ford Motor Company Renews Support For SMART for 2011/2012

Ford Motor Company has been a deeply valued (and invaluable) ongoing partner and sponsor of SMART since 2005. Without Ford, the many SMART Living Lab collaborations around the world—and all that SMART and partners have learned and gained from them about more sustainable and equitable transportation systems, livable communities, new innovations, new markets, new business models, and green jobs—would not have been possible. SMART extends deep thanks to David Berdish, John Viera, Sue Cischke, William Clay Ford Junior, and all the members of the Ford community who have been pivotal to SMART’s evolution since 2005 for renewing the commitment.

Student Work-Study positions available for 2011/2012

Every year SMART is fortunate to engage top-notch Work-Study students to work on SMART Projects and research during the academic year (see profiles of last year’s SMART work team at um-smart.org/people_partners/students). This year’s postings include a variety of positions that will support one or more of the following:

Partnership and pilot development for SMART’s Michigan-based sustainable transportation and economic development initiative: Connect and Prosper (see um-smart.org/connect-prosper).
Web and Social Media Development and Design for SMART (see website, blog, and networking site at current state – um-smart.org and um-smart.org/blog and smartumich.ning.com).
Project on New Business Models for New Mobility Solutions for the Urban Poor in India, South Africa, Brazil & the Philippines.
Development of SMART entrepreneurs’ network and SMART business network – research, network development and meetings.
Development and co-ordination of SMART Global City Network (Living Labs).
Research on Consumer Uptake of Seamless Multi-Modal Mobility.

Postings can be found at: www.studentemployment.umich.edu/cmx_content.aspx?cpid=11

SMART Welcomes First “SMART Fellow” Dr. Jonathan Feldman

SMART DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER SERIES WELCOMES
DR. JONATHAN MICHAEL FELDMAN, STOCKHOLM UNIVERSITY and
SMART FELLOW, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Tuesday September 20, 2011, 6:30 pm, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning Auditorium, 2000 Bonisteel Boulevard , Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2069 USA

Free of Charge, Coffee and Snacks to Follow

The National, Regional and Institutional Foundations for Green Jobs:
The Case of Rail-Based Mass Transit Manufacturing

With increasing national attention being paid to both job creation and manufacturing, activists, planners and politicians have promoted “green jobs” as a way to confront the economic, environmental and energy supply crises. Major cutbacks in defense spending may also create incentives to diversifying into mass transit, as happened during the post-Vietnam period and presidency of Jimmy Carter. In 1892, the Michigan-Peninsular Car Co. emerged as the largest single manufacturer of rolling stock in the United States. Walter Reuther, Governor William G. Milliken, Phil Power, Robert Goodman and Michael Moore are some of the people who have either advocated Michigan or the auto industry’s diversification into mass transit.

Yet, despite the hopes for more manufacturing and green jobs from the Obama Administration, news reports and government data show the former in decline and relatively few green jobs. Despite the promise, the advocacy of green jobs has often involved a rhetorical stance not always grounded in either the material reality of firms or the unique constellation of factors that make such job creation more or less likely in specific sectors or regions. Visiting professor Jonathan M. Feldman, Associate Professor at the Department of Economic History at Stockholm University, and U-M SMART Fellow, has engaged in extensive studies of mass transit producers. He will explain some of the key factors underlying success and failure within firms and regions trying to promote mass transit manufacturing.

About Jonathan Feldman

Dr. Feldman has studied factors influencing mass transit manufacturing in the United States, Canada, Sweden, South Korea and Japan. His transit manufacturing research has been discussed in The New York Times and published by The American Prospect, the International Labour Organization and a compendium on post Cold War economics. His research examines innovative platforms that support transportation technologies and manufacturing. The purpose of his study is to investigate how to promote green jobs and manufacturing by examining the case of the mass transportation, with a focus on different kinds of rolling stock (trains). Using the case of the subway manufacturing sector, Feldman’s research examines: (a) why domestic U.S. manufacturing declined, (b) the rise of foreign-based transnational suppliers into the U.S. market and an associated domestic content regime, and (c) potential and actual strategies to promote domestic production. He is also studying how light rail markets and supporting spatial planning has emerged in Portland, Stockholm and London. In Michigan, Feldman is particularly interested in potential synergies between mass transit markets and the larger automobile supplier chain and workforce, how companies developed new innovations, products, and strategies supporting U.S.-anchored jobs.

Making the Connection

Jonathan Feldman will be in Michigan (based in Ann Arbor) until September 26th. Please join us on September 20th for his presentation and the discussion to follow. If you can’t make it on the 20th, you can contact him at jonathanmfeldman@gmail.com.

Graham Institute Call for Community Planning Grants Due Oct 31

The Graham Institute invites you to submit a planning grant application (due October 31, 2011) for a proposed Integrated Assessment (IA) on Advancing Livable Communities through Sustainable Transportation.

The IA will bring together researchers, stakeholders, and decision-makers to develop common analytical approaches, data sets, tools, and policies for relevant sustainable transportation and livable community interventions. This holistic view incorporates a wide range of policies and strategies including sustainable transportation initiatives, land-use planning, economic development, communications and telecommunications, technology, environmental protection, health promotion, and more.

Integrated Assessment Planning Grant Request for Proposals

An effective IA in this context first requires identifying innovative efforts and partners willing to collaborate. To support this work, the Graham Institute will fund at least five planning grants at $20,000 each. The planning grant work should focus on the feasibility of conducting a place-based analysis of a particular set of interventions that will contribute to the IA. Planning grants will last for six months and run concurrently between November 30, 2011 and May 31, 2012.

RFP RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2011
DEADLINE FOR LETTERS OF INTENT: October 11, 2011
DEADLINE FOR RECEIVING GRANT PROPOSALS: October 31, 2011
ANNOUNCEMENT OF AWARDS: November 30, 2011

How to Apply

Specific information about the required application materials is in the Request for Proposals (RFP). Download the following documents:

Advancing Livable Communities through Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant RFP
Proposal Approval Form (Word Version) (PDF Version)

Please note: As described in the RFP, a Letter of Intent is required and must be e-mailed to jcallew@umich.edu by October 11, 2011. Submit your proposal via this online application. For more information, please contact: John Callewaert, Graham Institute Integrated Assessment Program Director, (734) 615-3752 or jcallew@umich.edu.

Online Application:  Due October 31, 2011  (Letter of Intent Due October 11, 2011)

Transforming Transportation Power Points now available online

Last year SMART had the great pleasure and opportunity to represent U-M in collaboration with Michigan State University and Wayne State University in establishing the Transforming Transportation Research Corridor Consortium (ttrcc.org) as part of the University Research Corridor initiative (urcmich.org). Last April TTRCC hosted its inaugural summit (many thanks to friends of SMART who attended and helped make it a success!) and from all accounts all manner of spinoffs – both research and projects — are underway. Power points from presentations at the summit are now available on the TTRCC site at www.ttrcc.org/Summit/Program/Presentations.aspx. Watch future editions of SMART e-news for video footage links and summaries of summit outcomes and spinoffs.

NOT TO MISS EVENTS AND IMPORTANT DATES

September 20: Dr. Jonathan Feldman Visiting Scholar from Sweden on industry development and green jobs around transit and rail in Michigan. 6:30 pm, Taubman College Auditorium U-M Ann Arbor

For more information

September 22-23: Upstate Transportation Forum: Transforming Communities through Creative Collaboration

Use your local resources to collaborate for transportation success, even in a tight economy.

The Forum will explore examples from Tompkins County and across Upstate New York to inspire your next partnership. Municipalities, institutions, transportation and economic development agencies, businesses and others at local, regional, and state levels will bring home new ideas and action steps

Don’t miss the keynote luncheon with presentation by Susan Zielinski, Managing Director of SMART.

Session topics at the Upstate Transportation Forum will include:

Carsharing Basics: Make it Happen
Get the Gorilla to Work for You: Collaborating with Large Employers
Transforming Community Habits: Approaching your Resources Differently
Solutions on a Shoestring: Using your Local Talent and Resources
Show Off Your Unique Place with a Community Partnership
Sharing the Space: Making Room for Active Transportation
Communicating to the Public, Policy Makers, and Funders
Land Use Impacts on Resource Use and Transportation

For more information, see events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e3xi0l55bad34df6&llr=tjbp4tcab

October 16-20: 18th World Congress On Intelligent Transportation Systems “Keeping the Economy Moving,” Orlando Florida

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America, ERTICO-ITS Europe, and ITS Asia-Pacific invite you to join the world’s leading transportation policy makers, technology, and business professionals in Orlando, Florida, from October 16-20, 2011 for the 18th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, which will also feature ITS America’s Annual Meeting & Exposition. SMART principals Peter Sweatman and Sue Zielinski will attend and present. Peter Sweatman is on the board of directors of ITS America. For more information, go to: www.itsworldcongress.org.

October 18-19: InnoMobility Global Conference, Greensville S.C.

Greenville, S.C. – If you are interested in discovering and developing new business opportunities aimed at transforming mobility worldwide, then don’t miss the opportunity to engage in a global mobility conversation at the InnoMobility 2011 Global Conference.

Participants will explore transformative mobility products and enabling technologies from companies including Michelin North America, Sage Automotive Interiors, BMW, GE, and Boeing, and a variety of entrepreneurial firms including Proterra and Aeronix. Areas to be discussed and explored include: • Innovative vehicle design and manufacturing • Sustainable materials and energy • Connectivity and information technologies • Transportation infrastructure such as roads, fueling stations and smart grids.

“InnoMobility is a distinctive conference because it offers businesses and entrepreneurs the opportunity to connect with the ‘what’s next’ of emerging ideas and trends in mobility,” said John Warner, founder of InnoMobility. “The conference and online community provides attendees access to cutting-edge opportunities that they would otherwise not be exposed to while connecting them with influential people. It’s not a secret that surrounding yourself with smart people teaches you new things—and this conference delivers just that.”

The conference will be held at the TD Convention Center in Greenville, S.C., from Oct. 18-19, 2011. Confirmed keynote presenters include: • Jay Baron, president and CEO, Center for Automotive Research, Ann Arbor, Mich. • Gordon Feller, director of urban innovation, Cisco Systems, San Francisco, Calif. • Kal Gyimesi, automotive leader, IBM Institute for Business Value, Richmond, Va. • Anthony Jannarelly, iMo concept designer and Michelin Challenge Design 2010 finalist, France • Rich Steinberg, electric vehicle operations and strategy manager, BMW North America • Susan Zielinski, managing director, Sustainable Mobility & Accessibility Research & Transformation, University of Michigan.

Prior to the global conference, a community forum will be held at the Carroll A. Campbell Graduate Engineering Center Auditorium on the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research campus in Greenville on August 19.

InnoMobility is actively seeking high-impact opportunity presentations on emerging technologies in these focus areas: Innovative vehicle design and manufacturing, sustainable materials and energy, information technology and connectivity, and transportation infrastructure such as roads, fueling stations and smart grids. By presenting your opportunity to the online community or live at the InnoMobility Conference, you can attract the customers, capital, talent and technology you need to succeed. The initial selection for online presentation applications is September 15. In addition, if your company is interested in showcasing new technology at the 2011 global conference, please contact Jessica Moss at jessicamoss@innoventurellc.com.

InnoMobility is a global, innovative community of diverse thought leaders that explore how evolving demographics and advancing technology lead to high-growth new business opportunities centered around mobility, energy, materials and connectivity. InnoMobility is managed by InnoVenture LLC.

SMART is a partner in the InnoMobility Conference.

For more information, go to: www.swampfox.ws/2011/08/02/innomobility-global-conference-october-18-19-2011

October 22-24: World Congress on Mobility for Sustainable Cities, Changwon, Republic of Korea

Getting out of our cars and starting to move sustainably

EcoMobility Changwon 2011 will provide you with fresh, visionary and enriching perspectives on sustainable urban mobility. Renowned transportation experts from around the globe will present some of the world’s best case studies, and participants will learn how to kick start and implement good policies while engaging in fruitful debates about mobility for the future of sustainable cities.

Featuring EcoMobile cities, bike sharing, innovations, and overcoming barriers

A special focus will be given to bicycle sharing systems and to EcoMobility innovations. Visions for overcoming physical, institutional or financial barriers will be explored. City Challenges Workshops will concentrate on innovative solutions tailored to the particular needs of cities. And a training course about bike sharing systems will help bike officers to design and implement them.

SMART is a partner in the EcoMobility Alliance

For more information, visit: ecomobility2011.iclei.org.

November 1-5 2011: 10th International Conference on Urban Health – ICUH 2011, Belo Horizonte City, Brazil

The principal theme to be addressed will be urban health action toward equity, with special interest in the evidence and action, focusing in the positive consequences in urban health interventions, as well as the social and public health policies that are required to address these issues. SMART will join research partners from Jaguariuna, Santa Barbara, and Conchal to present research findings on transportation and urban health indicators.

For more information about the conference please visit their website at www.icuh2011.com.

SMART AT LARGE (a not exhaustive report)

Bob Marans Lecturing on Livable Cities in Chengdu. Following the very successful Michigan Meetings on Developing Global Sustainability organized by the Office of the Vice President of Research, SMART core member Bob Marans has been invited to lecture on livable cities in Chengdu in October.

David Chock and Richard Gonzalez are moving ahead with their study on consumer uptake of seamless multi-modal mobility and they have been joined on their China-based research by David Hung of SJTU in Shanghai. Richard Gonzalez and David Hung presented key directions at the Michigan Meetings in May. They will all soon be joined by an MMPEI PISET Post Doc (see above). The study is supported by Ford Motor Company.

Don Scavia and John Callewaert have announced an exciting Community Planning Grant for Integrated Assessments on Advancing Livable Communities through Sustainable Transportation. See above.

Doug Kelbaugh attended the South-North Dialogue Session at the United Nations in New York in May, and led a session on sustainable transportation at the Congress for a New Urbanism conference in Madison in June.

Sue Zielinski has been out and about building partnerships and projects and giving presentations, including in Detroit (AIA Detroit by Design Symposium in April – aiadetroitbydesign.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/transportation-symposium-3); in New York at the United Nations South-North Dialogue Session in May (www.southsouthnews.com/Pages/SSN.aspx?nc=1&t=s&s=1&v=2011/05/20110519133032034&h=true&lo=false&r=7035&vid=a7819085-cc5c-444e-b3a9-4240469f9da7); in Lisbon, Coimbra, and Porto Portugal in June; in Madison at the “Growing Local” Congress for a New Urbanism Conference in June (www.cnu.org/cnu19); in Seattle at the Fort Lewis-McChord Sustainable Community Meeting in July; in Portland at a special WTS event and at the PNWER Annual Summit in July (www.pnwer.org/2011annualsummit.aspx); in Brazil twice in a series of partnership and research meetings near Sao Paulo and in Rio in May and July; in Traverse City at the Trans4M Retreat in July (trans4m.org); at the Wave 3.0 meeting on the 3 internets in August; and at the NREL meeting on sustainable transportation in August.

ABOUT SMART

SMART, Sustainable Mobility & Accessibility Research & Transformation, is a project of UMTRI, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, and the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. Its steering group represents a breadth and diversity of departments, institutes, and initiatives related to sustainable transportation at the University of Michigan.

SMART catalyzes and undertakes research, demonstration projects (living labs), education, and global learning exchange on a range of issues related to the sustainable future of transportation.

SMART ExChange–Smart’s networking site–is at smartumich.ning.com.

SMART is on Twitter.

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SMART e-News. October 2012.

Welcome to October 2012’s SMART e-News!

IMPORTANT SMART CONTENT DATES AND EVENTS

ABOUT SMART

SMART e-News. May 2012.

Welcome to May 2012’s SMART e-News!

SMART e-News. March 2012.

Welcome to March 2012’s SMART e-News!

SMART e-News. February 2012.

Welcome to February 2012’s SMART e-News!

SMART e-News. December 2011.

SMART e-News. September 2011.

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